Ministerial discretion in the reform of the Canadian financial sector

January 1, 2001

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One of the aspects of the reforms of the Canadian financial sector (Bill C-8) that has attracted the greatest interest is the role proposed for the minister of finance and various government instrumentalities in respect of future merger transactions involving the large Canadian banks. It has been suggested that the bank merger approval process is too complex and that there is potential for decisions to be made on grounds that are unrelated to objective and relevant criteria, — that is, political considerations. It has also been noted that under Bill C-8 the approval of the minister is required in a significant number of other situations. The inference is that the minister is too involved in the administration of Canadian federal financial sector legislation. This article was published in Directions January/February 2001.

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One of the aspects of the reforms of the Canadian financial sector (Bill C-8) that has attracted the greatest interest is the role proposed for the minister of finance and various government instrumentalities in respect of future merger transactions involving the large Canadian banks. It has been suggested that the bank merger approval process is too complex and that there is potential for decisions to be made on grounds that are unrelated to objective and relevant criteria, — that is, political considerations. It has also been noted that under Bill C-8 the approval of the minister is required in a significant number of other situations. The inference is that the minister is too involved in the administration of Canadian federal financial sector legislation. This article was published in Directions January/February 2001.